Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People?

Creation-Evolution Headlines ^ | June 8, 2017 | Dr Jerry Bergman

[fishtank]

June 8, 2017

Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People?

by Dr Jerry Bergman

In a recent article at Live Science, Laura Geggel asks, “Why Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People?” She claims that “For more than a millennium, scholars have noticed a curious correlation: Atheists tend to be more intelligent than religious people.”[i] How they could know this, since IQ tests and other means of measuring intelligence were only developed at the start of the last century, was not answered. Another problem is many kinds of intelligence exist, such as doing well on paper and pencil tests, or on performance tests, for example. Also, there exist intelligence in other areas, such as music IQ, math IQ, abstract conceptualization IQ, verbal IQ, personality IQ, even emotional IQ,[ii] and, according to some authors, 120 different kinds of IQs.

[5th MEB]

UUUUHHHH, don’t know, don’t care, knuckles hurt to much from dragging.

[RooRoobird20]

I would put any atheist up against any Christian with even basic training in apolgetics (defense of the Christian faith). The latter would quickly annihilate every typical atheist argument.

[5th MEB]

You were tested in the Corps to find out what kind of jobs you were capable of doing.
Then they ASSIGNED YOU TO WHATEVER THEY WANTED.
SEMPER FIDELIS, welcome to the “BIRD ON THE BALL”.

(snicker, snicker)

[DaveA37]

“Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People? “.

Well Dr. Jerry, they only THINK they are smarter than the rest of us. It has often proven to be the opposite.

[5th MEB]

Just look around at the world; the natural world, not the human world.
Remember GOD gave humanity free will so we could screw up if we wanted to, our choice.
But when you look at the rest of creation can you honestly say “THERE WAS NO PLAN”?

[5th MEB]

They offered OCS to me my 7th (only 8 weeks when I enlisted) week in Boot, I turned it down when They said I would go through another 90 days of officers boot at Quantico.
I may have been crazy, but I wasn’t stupid.

[Chickensoup]

105 is average for whites

[Jamestown1630]

I don't really have a problem with honest atheists. There seem to be many kinds: some people seem to just be born without a sense of the spiritual underpinnings of life and nature that others sense keenly. For others, an excessive stress on intellect and the 'rational' has crowded out any possibility of balance in this regard. Some have become disgusted with the way religion has been presented to them, and they mistake 'religiosity' and the letters of narrow sectarian doctrines for authentic spiritual awareness and spiritual approaches to life. A lot of them simply don't understand religion; and base their attitudes on misunderstanding.

I only get upset when they turn their atheism INTO a religion, and try to force it upon all of us, completely misreading and misunderstanding the Establishment Clause, for instance, and trying to force all religious expression out of the public square; refusing to tolerate and respect diversity in this area, etc.

[fishtank]

Good one!

[amihow]

Mensa accepts, but does not administer IQ tests.

A young 12 year old just maxed out at 162 as highest score ever on Cattle according to article I just read. Is there a story about you?

[amihow]

Mensa accepts, but does not administer IQ tests.

A young 12 year old just maxed out at 162 as highest score ever on Cattell according to article I just read. Is there a story about you?

[amihow]

Mensa accepts, but does not administer IQ tests.

A young 12 year old just maxed out at 162 as highest score ever on Cattell according to article I just read. Is there a story about you?

[dhs12345]

Me neither. A rational discussion is very nice.

One thing that I strongly believe is that it takes a “leap of faith” to NOT believe in a deity. To suggest that there isn't “design” and then “intelligent design” means that the person has to accept a lot as fact knowing that our experiences in this natural world deceive us. What we perceive with our senses is a deception — the real world is much greater and very abstract for our simple minds to comprehend. There is a lot of weird stuff and it is getting weirder and stranger as we learn and discover more.

The 1st amendment — the anti-religion people always quote the separation clause but then ignore the second part — the right to practice our faith freely. Does the establishment clause prevent us from carrying a bible on the grounds of the capital and reading the 10 commandments? I would hope not. Yet, that is where we are headed.

BTW, I like it when the atheists and the Satan worshipers set up next to a Nativity Scene — it shows the contrast of hate from those so called “faiths” with the love and absolute sacrifice and suffering for people who hated him shown by Christ and the Christian faith.

[Jamestown1630]

"it takes a “leap of faith” to NOT believe in a deity

This is how I've always felt; I can never understand how people can't see deliberate intelligent design in Creation.

But, we're all made differently; and no doubt, that is part of the plan of Intelligence, as well. Many of the discoveries that have been made by atheists, will eventually play a part in the final recognition that 'Intelligent Design' did create us. One of the things that amuses me greatly is that so many people think that we've figured everything out already; and that religion and science will never meet, and become partners - despite the fact that scientific discoveries have been moving toward that anyway, for a century. (A lot of scientists seem to be afraid of expressing what their guts are telling them :-)

(When I imagine hitting the lottery really big, one of the things I always dream of doing with that money is endowing a chair at some great research university, to actually study, without prejudice, the possibility that we are both spiritual and physical 'beings' - something like PEAR, at Princeton :-)

[dhs12345]

I like it! I too believe that religion and science will merge in the future.

[Jamestown1630]

I believe that if science is - becomes - remains - HONEST, it will have no choice.

[dhs12345]

Agreed!

The desire for truth will come full circle.

[Keyhopper]

But all atheist are a$$#@!=$

[Keyhopper]

Sheldon? Is that you?

[BizBroker]

The Philosopher Frederich Nietzche once posited that morality was nothing more than a means for inferior men to hold back the superior men. However, it should be noted that Syphilis likely contributed to his death.